Joey Big Snake

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Oki, my name is Joey Big Snake (He/him/they/them). I am a Blackfoot First Nation artist from Siksika Nation, which is situated on Treaty 7 land and Blackfoot Confederacy territory. I am Calgary based but work within both Siksika and the city. I am a third-year student at AUARTS majoring in Media Arts + Digital Technology (Time Based).

 

I work with Siksika Board of Education in their STEAM program in sharing new technologies with indigenous youth. I have had works exhibited at the Esker Foundation (TIPI_LOOPS.dreamwaves) and Telus Spark Center (Morningstar [VENUS RISEN]).

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At the moment, I am working with Blackfoot astronomer Rob Cardinal and fellow artist Brendon Many  Bears with Telus Spark on the Blackfoot Skies Project.

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ARTIST STATEMENT​

As an Indigenous artist, understanding Blackfoot culture is key to my work.  My culture consists of ideas such as urban Indigenous existence, oral histories/storytelling, Indigenous mental health, ways of knowing and much more. As Indigenous peoples, it feels often that our outreach is overlooked. Art is one of ways we I feel like we can create visibility and tell a story, not only for a public audience, but for the audience back home as well.

 

Along with Blackfoot culture, my work is also informed by personal experiences. Getting into the minds of Indigenous thinkers/artists such as Thomas King, Rebecca Belmore, and Brian Jungen has shaped the way I think about myself and my message: I aim to portray genuine Indigenous expression in my each of my works, challenging viewers to think differently on how we see/think/feel about Indigenous bodies, identities, and ways of seeing. 

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Digital mediums are my tools in creating art. My works are constantly on-going and evolving, rather than abandoning a project when it's finished, I like to build on the works. Like layers of paint on top of each other. Whether audio, projection, 3d printing, or video, I use the digital medium as the bridge to make my works a reality and push my message as best I could.